Cages Come In All Sizes
by ComingAndGoingByBubble
Summary: She felt as though she were Morrible's puppet, the Wizard's toy and that there was no way out of it... and this dress, this beautiful, magnificent dress was just another trap for her, another cage for her to be confined in. A one shot about Glinda and her wardrobe. Gelphie.


She would have rather it had been pink.

As she stared at the image in the mirror reflecting back at her that is the only assessment the blonde made about the dress.

The color, a vibrant glittering sky blue, was indeed gorgeous with embellishments of crystals in almost every stitch. But there was something off about it. Something almost too grand about it all.

She felt like it was suffocating her.

The bodice seemed to grip too tightly at her waist, crushing her lungs and ribs. The numerous layers of tool for the skirt seemed to swallow her up, restrict her movements. The shoulders were capped, but her neck was free except now the maid had adorned it with a shimmering diamond necklace.

Glinda swallowed as she held her wand in one of her hands lightly.

"It is a very beautiful gown, Miss Glinda," said the maid.

The blonde felt as though she couldn't answer. It wasn't just the color that was bothering her. It was what the dress stood for, and everything that went with it.

She was finally getting what she wanted... and yet she wanted nothing more than to be rid of it all.

"I heard that it was specifically made for you," the maid continued to talk but Glinda was not listening. She was having her own inner monologue while her servant was trying to converse with her. She didn't even notice when the maid stopped and left the room, though she was eternally grateful for it.

She stared at the dress once more. It wasn't that it was ugly, goodness no. It was the most beautiful dress Glinda had ever worn.

The crystals shone light stardust against the light blue fabric and it seemed to pour down in waves on the skirt.

She felt like a walking fairytale, like a princess. Everything was done to perfection: her hair, her gown, her makeup.

She looked as though she were a queen, as though she were a ruler.

But inside, the shy timid girl who always wore confidence on her sleeve because of self pride and vanity was still there, and that girl was terribly frightened and scared.

That girl felt as though she was in over her head. The position she was in now was too much, too dangerous.

The girl from the Upper Uplands wasn't so sure about her new direction in life. She felt as though she were Morrible's puppet, the Wizard's toy and that there was no way out of it... and this dress, this beautiful, magnificent dress was just another trap for her, another cage for her to be confined in.

Glinda's breathed picked up, she felt her throat become constricted. She was panicking, her palms started to sweat.

She looked up at her reflection and saw her true self. The face that had always been so calm, so collected, so poised had fallen and was replaced by one shattered by fear and regret. Her eyes didn't shine from confidence, but from terror, from horror. Her lips weren't stained with crimson lipstick, they were stained with blood from her biting on them in worry and anguish. Her hair, all done up in beautiful curls, looked fake as if it wasn't her real hair.

She looked too thin, too perfect, a perfect mold of what Morrible and the Wizard wanted her to be.

Her stomach lurched. She didn't even want to think of the speech she had to make today, the one about the Wizard's efforts to capture Elphaba.

Elphaba, that name brought both comfort and pain to her. Her once closest friend was now her enemy. She hated to hear how the people talked about her, how they hated her though they didn't even know her. She knew that one of these days that they were going to try and kill her, and Glinda couldn't bear the thought of that.

The wand, which she had been holding so very loosely, fell to the floor with a thud. She didn't seem to care. The Palace had a thousand others just like it. It was all for show anyways.

Glinda now stood up straighter and seemed to be in a staring competition with her reflection. How she loathed the girl staring back at her, the cheap sell out. The girl who stared back at her had ruined everything all for the sake of an opportunity to become great, she had turned her back on her friend, turned her back on everyone to become this, this "Glinda the Good" person.

She would give anything to go back and redo the past.

Tears pricked at her eyes and the longer Glinda stared at the dress, the more she grew to hate it, to despise it.

Her fingers, trembling, curled around the fabric that capped her shoulder, and soon a loud tear was heard through the air.

As she looked at the patch of fabric that she now clutched in her hand, a hysterical giggle escaped Glinda's lips. After that a chorus of sounds erupted from her room as her hands eagerly tore at the dress, ripping it to shreds until she was left with her corset and slip.

The dress lay in pieces on the floor. She knew her maid would be furious at her when she came in but Glinda felt relieved, even a little free.

Stretching her arms out wide, the blonde couldn't stop laughing and she found herself once again glancing at her reflection.

This Glinda, the one in her white corset and slip looked as free as a bird, with one exception. The tiara that lay on top of her head was beginning to pinch her scalp. So with a hand she wrenched the head piece from her curls and tossed it onto the floor.

A smile came to her face. One that hadn't been seen in a very long time.

"Don't you look like a damn fool, why in Oz would you ruin such a beautiful dress?" a harsh voice scolded from the far corner.

Glinda didn't even have to turn around to know who it was but she did so anyways.

Elphaba was there, lurking in the shadows with her broomstick in one hand, the other at her hip. Her trademark hat brimmed her face so that only her eyes were shown and everything below them. The long black hair that Glinda had loved so much to look at was concealed by the headpiece. Her dress, per usual, was the darkest of blacks but it framed her skinny body quite nicely. The dirty old combat boots were another matter, so Glinda did not press on those today.

Instead she focused on the novelty of seeing her friend, and was only slightly embarrassed to be caught in only her corset and slip.

"You shouldn't sneak up on me like that. What if someone had seen you?" Glinda pointed out.

Elphaba only smirked, her red lips curling into an amused expression.

"Your guards are imbeciles, they wouldn't see their own hands in front of their faces," snarled the Witch.

Glinda took a hesitant step closer to Elphaba, not in fear of the woman but in fear that this entire conversation was all just a dream and that she would vanish if Glinda got close enough.

Elphaba watched the blonde carefully, sensing every step she made.

"You ruined your dress," she said at last once Glinda stopped moving and was directly in front of Elphaba.

"It doesn't matter."

Elphaba looked at Glinda, slightly scoffing at her attitude.

"Since when have you not cared about your appearance? Have you really changed that much, Miss Galinda?" the old nickname brought a giggle to the blonde's lips.

"I don't know if I've changed," she answered truthfully. "You certainty haven't," she added shortly afterwards.

The comment was a good dig and Elphaba only laughed at it.

"Still snobbish, I see," she jeered back.

Glinda's face turned warm, and she smiled.

Elphaba looked tired, exhausted like she was fighting a loosing battle. Glinda took pity on her.

"You look like you need some sleep," she pointed out.

Elphaba shrugged, "Can't sleep. I've got death threats all around, one learns not to sleep when an entire world is after your head."

"Elphie," Glinda reached out a hand but Elphab recoiled from it.

"No, no, don't take such pity on me. It makes me sick."

"I-I should go," Elphaba said suddenly looking towards the window and seeing that the sun was setting, "You have your speech to make and I have to get back."

Glinda caught her arm.

"I can make them wait... please. At least... at least tell me why you came," she implored.

Elphaba couldn't resist her demands.

"I came to see how you were."

It was a simple answer but one that spoke a thousand words.

Glinda smiled graciously, sniffling a bit. Tears threatened to fall but she willed them not to.

"I don't think I can do this," the blonde admitted softly, "I can't spread these lies about you."

Elphaba looked at her, and brought a hand and cupped it under her chin.

"You can. You have to. Otherwise they'll be after you as well."

Glinda shook her head, "I wouldn't mind. I could help you, we could be on the run together..."

But Elphaba didn't want to listen anymore.

"That time is long gone, now we have to face the future."

Glinda's tears started to fall, she couldn't contain them any longer.

Elphaba noticed and wiped them away gently.

"Now, now, don't you cry. You'll ruin your obscene amount of makeup."

Glinda laughed, only it sounded like a crying laugh.

"They're going to kill you," she managed to get out hoarsely after a few minutes.

Elphaba looked resolved, "I know," she said coolly.

Glinda crumpled against her, letting sobs rack through her body. She couldn't hold it in.

Elphaba held her tightly, caressing her hair softly, whispering sweet words into her ear. She held her until her tears were done.

"Now, go on," she nodded towards the blonde, "You have a speech to make."

The blonde nodded all the while wiping away tears from under her eyes. It took her a moment to realize that she had nothing to wear. Morrible and the Wizard were expecting her to wear a dress of magnificent beauty and yet she was only wearing her slip and corset.

But Elphaba it seems, had a plan. Muttering a quick spell under her breath, the blonde suddenly was caught in a world-wind of what could only be described as star-dust. It glittered and shone until finally she could see.

A dress of light pink now adorned her figure. It sparkled as if it had been made out of sunlight. A light green sash was tied around her waist to let the skirt flare out as needed. The top was cut well, her shoulders were exposed and her hair was now down in soft curls.

She looked around to thank Elphaba but found that the woman was gone.

An empty feeling welled up in her heart... and yet Glinda pressed on.

She picked up her tiara from the floor, mended it for it was slightly bent on the side, placing it on her head when she was done. She held her wand in one hand.

Looking at her reflection she smiled.

A single tear ran down her cheek but she pushed it away. She no longer felt suffocated to he point where she couldn't breathe.

Even though she was still a bird in a cage, she felt as though her cage had a bit more room in it now than it did before.

**Just a one shot because I felt like it. Hope you all liked it.**

**Bubble**


End file.
